Shashamene

Posted on 2008/07/04 by .

Shashamene, 1909 9th Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-328-2223 , where Abiti used to be.
A new entry for the 9th Street Ethiopian row. The menu is narrower than most but quality is above average and the vegetarian sampler is especially noteworthy. If you are vegetarian and opting for the sampler, this may be your #1 bet in town. Not a palace but it has a “nicer” atmosphere than many of the other places in the area. First-rate kitfo as well.

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Posted in Columbia Heights/Howard University, DC, Ethiopian | 1 Comment

Sea Side Crab House

Posted on 2008/06/26 by .

Sea Side Crab House, 6799 Wilson Blvd., #5, Falls Church, VA, 703-241-CRAB (2722) (where Saigon Garden used to be) (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Don Rockwell]

An excellent seafood house in Eden Center. The soft shell crab is some of the best around. The crawfish are served Cajun style, although not as spicy as you would get in southwest Louisiana. It’s small and not a great place to sit and chat inside, but absolutely worth having in the repertoire. Outdoor seating is available. Right now it is my go-to choice for crabs. Make sure you use lots of the lime, salt and pepper sauce they give you.

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Posted in Cajun, Crabs, Eden Center, Falls Church/Seven Corners, The Best, Virginia | 1 Comment

Bombay Indian Restaurant

Posted on 2008/06/21 by .

Bombay Indian Restaurant, web site, 11229 New Hampshire Avenue, White Oak Shopping Center, Silver Spring, MD, 301-593-7222 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper]
This place has gotten very good reviews and in fact it is now one of the premier Indian restaurants around. Very consistent with some Kashmiri inspirations. Rich spicing, though without being too hot. The bread with the cherries and nuts is one special dish you can get here but most of it is excellent. It’s not near anything else you might visit, but worth the trip.

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Posted in Indian, Maryland, Silver Spring | 3 Comments

Ariana Kabob House

Posted on 2008/06/17 by .

Ariana Kabob House, web site, 9738 Fairfax Boulevard, Fairfax, VA, Rt. 50, just west of Fairfax Circle703-865-7610 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window)
It’s a delight to have this place so close to my house. Real Afghan food, excellent all around and yes they have kadu and aushak and the like. Get the Mantu.
It’s not quite as good as Star Restaurant Banquet, on Rt. 236, but it is well above average.

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Posted in Afghan, Fairfax, Virginia | 1 Comment

Meaza International Market/Restaurant – Closed

Posted on 2008/06/15 by .

Meaza International Market/Restaurant, web site, 5440-42 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA, 703-820-2870 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [WaPo (Eve Zibart) | City Paper | Yelp]

[update December 2007: new entry and located at 5700 Columbia Pike]
Yummy in taste and original in execution, the kitfo is great here and the place even looks nice. The best Ethiopian in this entire area, every dish here is strong.

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Posted in Arlington, Ethiopian, The Best, Virginia | 4 Comments

Cafe Trope

Posted on 2008/06/12 by .

Café Trope, web site, 2100 P Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-223-9335 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | MenuPages | Yelp | Gayot]
Caribbean food, cooked by a Gambian. It is right now one of the best places in Dupont Circle. The best way to go here is to order vegetarian, including of course the spinach and the collard greens. The plantains by the way are by far the best of any area restaurant. The salads are good, too. I sampled some of the meat and fish-based main courses. They weren’t bad but I don’t think on their own they give enough reason to come here.

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Posted in Caribbean, DC, Dupont Circle | 3 Comments

Gerard Pangaud Bistro

Posted on 2008/06/08 by .

Gerard Pangaud Bistro, web site, 915 15th Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-737-4445 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Washingtonian | Menuism | Don Rockwell | Yelp]
A resurrection of the old Gerard’s restaurant in the form of a Bistro. But it’s hardly any different. The old Gerard’s was great when it was “on” (only sometimes), after one visit it is hard for me to see the Bistro version as much of an improvement. It’s not.

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Posted in DC, Downtown, Fine Dining, French | Comments Off on Gerard Pangaud Bistro

The best beef in the world?

Posted on 2008/06/01 by .

There is a new winner and yes it is Kobe Beef in Kobe, Japan. It lives up to the hype, if you are in Kobe just try any of the better beef establishments in town. My personal list now reads as follows (in order, of course):

1. Kobe Beef, Kobe, Japan.
2. Dry-aged beef in Hermosillo, Mexico.
3. Southern Brazil, near Curitiba.
4. Lockhart, Texas, most of all the brisket at Smitty’s.

Maybe Argentina is next in line and it might place higher if I had consumed countryside barbecue there.
And yes, Michael Pollan and Mark Bittman are right: you should eat less beef. But Kobe is not the place to abstain. The reality is that eating beef in Kobe will make it very hard for you to eat beef almost anywhere else again.

“The best beef in the world?” Marginal Revolution, June 1, 2008

Update April 2012: See “Food’s Biggest Scam: The Great Kobe Beef Lie,” by Larry Olmsted, Forbes, April 12, 2012

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Posted in Japan | 1 Comment

La Sandia

Posted on 2008/05/05 by .

La Sandia, web site, Tysons Corner Center, Level 1, McLean, VA, by Barnes and Noble at the end opposite Bloomingdales (in blue on mall map), 703-893-2222

The new Rick Sandoval place, it opened in May of 2008. I went during the first week and thought it was clearly the best Mexican place around. Sandoval places don’t stay great for long, so now is the time to go.

It’s traditional Mexican rather than fusion but genuine and with high quality ingredients. The tortillas are excellent as is the guacamole and the queso fundido; make sure you use the sauce on the latter, and in a tortilla. I liked the chile relleno, the skirt steak tacos, and especially the carnitas. The chicken tamale was disappointing. The prices are entirely reasonable and in fact cheaper than the other restaurants in that lower level Tysons area. The existence of this place makes me very happy. Beware the crowds, however, at peak times it is very hard to get in here and they don’t take traditional reservations.

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Posted in Mexican, The Best, Vienna/Tysons, Virginia | Comments Off on La Sandia

Sangam – at GMU

Posted on 2008/04/02 by .

Sangam, Johnson Center Food Court (GMU map | Google map), GMU, Fairfax, VA
That’s the new Indian food place in the Food Court, at the Johnson Center at George Mason University. It’s excellent, at least so far, thereby making it the first good food at GMU, ever. I’d put it in the top quarter of local Indian restaurants, though I expect time and the crowds to take its toll. The vegetarian sampler is the best dish and they serve Halal food as well. The samosas look overfried. The analytical question is why this took so long to happen, or alternatively why it has happened at all. I have read there is also a wave of innovation in hospital food as well.
[Run by the folks who own Sangam Restaurant, web site, 1211 N Glebe Road, Arlington, VA (in the Comfort Inn), 703-524-2728 [Yelp]]

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Posted in Fairfax, Indian, Virginia | 2 Comments